Measuring Time

Measuring Time

In our class room we have been using timers, waiting lists and 2 small hour glasses to help children takes turns.  One hour glass lasted one minute (not long enough), and the other about 15 minutes (too long).

I proposed that thing make their own hour glass and they decide the amount of time.
The Materials I provided for making an hour glass(except it won't be an hour).

2 plastic bottles

bottle cap with hole

salt

tape

funnel

digital timer (stop watch)

Hour Glass - a glass vessel for measuring time in which sand runs from an upper compartment to a lower compartment in an hour.

The children worked to tape two bottles together.  This work provided an opportunity for the group to collaborate and make new connections.

I wonder if the children realized that the more salt they used, the more time it took to come through the hole in the cap into the other bottle? 

We placed the hour glass beside the sensory table to help them take turns.
  
Will the children make another hour glass?  Will this process help them think about time?

MOON STORIES: HEY, WHERE DID THE MOON GO?

Seeing the moon in the middle of the day was an experience that swept up every one's attention and suddenly the moon was a "friend".  Someone to gather carrots and leaves for. Someone to invite to birthday parties and to wish a happy birthday. The children wove stories together in ways they could relate to and have embraced experiences with materials they used to relate to their new "friend", the moon.

                                              A child noticed the moon in the sky one day as we made 
                                              our way to the playground: Suddenly all of the children 
                                              and teachers were fascinated with seeing it in the sky!


                    When we got to the playground we couldn't see it!

                         "Where's the moon?"  "Where did it go?"

                                            


We went to visit Anna in the studio to think more about the moon and why we couldn't see it. Anna asked, "What did the moon look like? Did it look like this (drawing a full moon), like this (drawing a half moon), or like this (drawing a crescent moon)?"  Kindergarten children were leaving the studio and they helped us name the different phases/shapes of the moon. A story unfolded as they drew and talked about the way the moon looked. 

                                        "My house is pink!"

“Once the moon was on the playground. Then he went home to his mommy... Little moon, Mommy and Daddy. They live in the house in the sky." - Tucker, Zane, Mason Cole and Harry

                                                             


Another day we were playing with salt dough when another story developed.

                                                The wolf and its baby  

Kirsten:  "The wolf chased the baby moon." 

Tucker:  "The wolf ate the moon and I'm going to     catch him! I hit the wolf and I'm going to eat him!"  

Sammy:  "I'm going to catch the moon too.  The wolf is not mean.  He had a baby wolf."

                       

                                           


Playing outside, the children wanted to give leaves and carrots to the moon for its birthday. As the children were collecting the leaves and putting them into their pockets they wondered if the moon would need a pocket as well. 

Making a pocket for the moon with Anna in the studio, we all wondered if it needed to be a little pocket or a BIG pocket. There was discussion about whether the pocket would be red or white.

  



                                           









Collecting leaves and carrots.

A rocket ship takes the children to the moon to deliver the carrots.

An idea came to the children when we brought the pocket to circle.  "We can make a door with kitties inside!" (The children thought of making doors that open with surprises inside after reading a book that had flaps for opening to provide an interesting twist and opportunity for humor.)








They made a door with carrots painted on the front and then drew their own houses on the inside.  They cut kitties and carts out of felt and decorated them with sparkles.  When the door opens there are kitties on carts inside. I wonder if they wanted the moon to know where they live.  Are they hoping the moon will come to visit them? The moon seems to be their special friend. Someone who shares birthdays and can receive presents.

                                         
                                                         
                                        
An invitation came from the moon: "Please write a story for me. Love, The Moon."  

Harry: "A CHOO CHOO TRAIN BRINGS BALLS FOR YOU."

Tucker: "I HAVE A BOW AND ARROW TO SHOOT MY NAME AND BOOK TO YOU.             THE WOLF CHASES THE MOON. HE TRIPS."

Charlie: "OPEN THE DOOR. A DOGGY IS INSIDE. A WOLF CHASES THE MOON."

Charlie: "A WOLF CHASES THAT MOON. STOP, MOON!"

Express mail delivery...

Mason Cole: "THE KITTIES ON CARTS... THEY PARKED!"

Sticks, Cones, Seeds, Stones, Leaves and Pods

This fall, children and teachers in the Rainbow room have been collecting natural materials from around the school. The children noticed the beauty of these materials. They brought them into the classroom and added them to our nature center.

A teacher encouraged the children to make collages.

 Several children were able to slow down and focus on choosing the materials.  They carefully arranged the elements.. to create their inner peace? At their stage of development they are just beginning to notice patterns.

MATERIALS and LANGUAGES

Last week we introduced tempera paint in the mini studio.  We started with a large piece of paper on the wall and a limited palette of color -  black, white, blue and green.  After a day or two we replaced the blue and green with red and yellow, leaving the original paper on the wall.  The finished painting is hanging down the back stairway if you would like to take a look.

 

 

 

(a side note- Painting or drawing on a large vertical surface helps develop the larger muscles of the shoulder and upper arm.  Children strengthen these muscles first, and then the smaller muscles in the forearms and hands; all necessary for proper pencil grasp) 

 

A few years ago Robyn and I had the good fortune to work with Fran (Forest Room).  At circle one day she showed the children that they could make the outline of a shape with one color of paint and then fill it in with another.  We repeated that demonstration for the children this year and they have been trying it out in their painting.  It helps define their image and thereby make it more "readable".  


Ultimately we would like the children to develop some skill with a variety of materials.  Some materials will even become a "language" with which they can communicate their questions and ideas.  Throughout the preschool the teachers offer a range of experiences with a variety of materials so the children can explore many.  Not all materials will become languages for all the children, but finding the one that matches your voice can be transformative and is richly valuable throughout life.  Exploring a broad range increases their options, their skills, and their understanding of various materials. 

 

 

 

Magna tiles continue to be an extremely popular material for many children, and so we have decided to take them on as an intention this year - to learn as much as we can about what they can offer, their limitations, how we can support and extend their usefulness.    Are they an "intelligent" material, one that can be transformed?  Can they become a language for some of the children?  We have seen that they support their pretend play, but do they inspire and challenge?  Does their ease of use make them undesirable?   These are some of the questions that we are thinking about. 

 

We know that as parents you make decisions about materials and toys all the time too.  We would love to hear your questions and thoughts as we explore this and other materials. 

 

 

"You do stuff better when you slow down!"

Shayna recently wrote a story about fairies:

Silvermist and Rosetta

They laughed and laughed because Rosetta tickled Silvermist.

Rosetta went home and Silvermist followed. The door was locked, so they used the key, but the door was still locked. The door stayed locked!

So Rosetta went to Silvermist's house. They went inside and played and played and played. They had so much time.

And then it was tomorrow.



Children spending time with a
special tree- part of an ongoing
classroom project


Like adults, time is on our children's minds. We are all feeling rushed, particularly at this time of year.

I asked Shayna if Silvermist and Rosetta enjoyed all the time they had that day to play. She nodded yes.

Do they feel rushed when they play?
Again, she nodded yes.
Do they ever run out things to play?
She shook her head no.

I asked the group around me at this point if they also feel rushed when they play. Generally they agreed that, yes, they feel like they don't have enough time to play.
 
Why is that? Do we have too many activities in the classroom? Are we scheduling them too much during or after school? Or is there more to this that didn't manifest in the conversation? Perhaps play feels unsatisfactory sometimes (which happens frequently with young children) and there's a perception that more time devoted to a particular friend or narrative will improve the potential for fulfillment; that at some point everyone will play in harmony. "More time" in this context means we're still working at this, not we don't have enough hours in the day. 

Hmmm...
 
Eventually questions about adults and rushing circulated around the snack table. A full discussion about time developed involving the whole group.

Children enjoy quiet time in
the classroom with each
other's company.

Question: What do grown-ups do too quickly?
Looking at the black bunny
Cleaning
Getting dressed
Eating
Dancing
Vacuuming
Brushing teeth

Why should grown-ups slow down?
They might fall down and hit their head
They might hit their children
They might eat and vacuum at the same time and food will spill

Children have the time and space in the
classroom to explore and investigate at
their own pace.

What about teachers? What should we do slower?
Walk more slowly
Eat more slowly
Drink Slowly

What's the good part of slowing down?  (I really wanted some comments that were positive about slowing down, not just about getting hurt or making mistakes. This was a hard question for them to answer).
You might do something wrong if you go too fast!

These girls are using the playground
space to continue their fairy game
that originated earlier in the classroom.

What about me? What do you want me to do slower?
Writing (my arm will get too tired if I write quickly)
Eating (I think someone noticed me eating and walking at the same time)
Shushing at circle. Slow down how you shush. (This child is right! It makes a difference to quietly and slowly blow your air out with a shush. This is a new part of our circle routine!)
You do stuff better when you slow down. If you do it fast, you might do it wrong.

These comments were really enlightening. I had no idea that the children are noticing how quickly adults move around them. It's like we're all moving in a particular orbit, but the adults are spinnng around the children at a high speed while the children are moving at the "just right" speed. There's a collective understanding among these 4-year olds that moving too quickly, or rushing, can have bad outcomes. And I was reminded to slow myself down, to breathe properly and calmly at circle, and to always listen to those hidden gems in children's stories. Thanks to Shayna for bringing time to my attention!
 
 
 

Tree Exploration

Children's theories about trees

Sometimes trees are attached to each other.

Trees grow like vegetables, very big.

When big trees come the little trees get cut down by the big trees.

                                  This is the way I imagine that the children see the tree.

 

 

Trees are plants.

How can you tell if a tree is old?

When a tree has been there a long time.

There are old leaves on the tree.
They have big branches.
Young trees have bumps on their bark.
Old trees, their bark comes off.

How do trees drink water?

It rains and the water gets sucked into the soil, then it goes up all the way.

Rain comes from clouds, it dribbles on trees. 
 The soil goes into the trees and then into some little holes, that makes trees grow.

The rain goes into the soil and trees grow big and strong and they are Daddy and Mommy.

 

Why do trees have bark?

Trees have sap.  Bark covers the trees.

Baby monkeys, daddy,mommy, brother and sister have boo boos on their hands.  They use the tree sap for medicine.

 

The children noticed this tree and wondered why it had bricks inside it.

One child said it was a secret passage.

Another said you can climb up it.

As we were walking the children noticed the leaves were different colors. When it is Fall the leaves change colors and after Fall they don't change color.

Trees grow every day and every night.

 

 

Here you see some of the first drawings by the children.  Notice that they do not draw them as they see them but they draw their relationship with them.

How do trees eat?

The food drops into the stems....they are growing....the Summer is hot...the sun comes up and the leaves fall off.

 

Using oil pastels they revealed 
the bark of the tree on the paper.

Colors all over, mixed together.

It looks like a rainbow tree.

We colored it.

The next day the teachers set up the paper to form a tree, for a provocation.  The children begin to play inside the structure.

The children integrate their thinking of trees into their play.  They also seem to relate the trees to family.

The teachers and children will continue this inquiry.   How will the children continue their relationship with the trees on our campus?

As the children were drawing they discussed more of their theories.
 
Some of the children believed that the tree was a girl, (with a princess inside) some said it was a boy.
One boy thought there should be faces on the tree.
A few girls said there was blood inside.


I look forward to seeing the direction the children will take next.  Will they represent trees in other mediums?  Will they write stories?